Bridging the divide
This article appeared
in the February 2004 Last words column in IT Training magazine.
IT is far too important to be left to the IT function,
says Ade McCormack, who argues that
the training department can help bridge the gap between IT and the rest of the
company.
Sixties management
consultant Bob Dylan was, and still is, very much ‘on the money’ with his
mantra “The times they are a changing”. We are in the midst of a revolution.
People may not be dying but they are certainly getting fired. This is the new
reality and not some economic blip that will be behind us next year.
Today’s empowered
customers want more for less. Reconciling this and being profitable is the 21st
century business challenge.
Smart organisations
recognise that IT plays a critical role in both revenue generation and cost
management.
But isn’t IT the stuff
that the IT department does? That’s partially true and Training departments
need to be positioned to raise their game in line with the Board’s increasingly
raised expectations on how IT is going to save the business.
The remaining truth is
that IT is too important to be abdicated to the IT department, which should not
take responsibility for how IT resources are allocated within the business nor
for the manner/extent to which the IT systems are used.
Thus the Training
department’s IT related responsibilities extend beyond the needs of the IT
department into the user community.
The traditional IT
department-user tension doesn’t help. Training departments would be forgiven
for not ‘stepping up to the plate’, believing that all cross-border initiatives
with the ‘propeller-heads’ are doomed. I have met major league CIOs who see
aligning the IT department with the users as a bridge too far. Similarly many
business leaders are frustrated with their IT department, which in part is due
to the latter speaking a ‘foreign language’, but also because the former can’t
understand it. The Training department could play a strategic role in helping
the Board be a little more IT conversant. The IT department would benefit from
being more business-friendly, politically aware and better at expectation
management. As a suggestion, allocate as much time preparing this message as
developing the training. You’ll be flying very close to the Sun on this one, so
take great care.
Also bear in mind that
IT departments have taken the blame when in many cases the problem wasn’t
technology, but user and/or processes related. 40% of CRM systems are sitting
unused (Gartner), and not because the technology doesn’t work. The Training
department has a responsibility to take charge of the technology-people
interface and not abdicate it to the in-house developers or the vendor’s post
sales department. Ultimately the Acceptance certificate for the new IT
system needs a signature from the Training department.
Training departments
in general know their limitations in respect of technology based requests and
typically trust third parties to handle the related intervention. Nonetheless
in respect of technology training, the customer experience pre and post
delivery is often marred by a ‘we’re not IT specialists’ attitude. That is no
surprise to anyone, but as in travelling abroad, it is at the very least polite
to make some attempt at speaking the language. Making an effort, no matter how
small, generally elicits an appreciative response. Only technologists with the
hardest of hearts would demean what to them might sound like ‘pidgin IT’.
Business gravity is
accelerating us towards an IT-centric universe. So where can the Training
department add most value? As mentioned IT, processes and people will need to
be aligned if the organisation is to get the best value from its IT investment.
This irreversible change will be fundamental. Expect the drains of your
organisation to be dug up as the reengineering for a future of certain
uncertainty gets underway. The impact of new IT systems, new ways of doing
things and the impending threat of redundancy will create an atmosphere of
anxiety and diminishing morale amongst the user community.
This is where I
believe the opportunity lies for the 21st century Training
department. This is your chance to take charge of what can be called the
e-culture change. The successful migration of your technophobic /
technoindifferent user community to one that understands the associated issues,
risks and opportunities will be critical to the success of all other related
initiatives. Remember shareholders are not obsessed with headcount, just profit.
There are two ways forward, reduce the staff or improve their effectiveness. A
timely intervention by the Training department will enable staff to make
considered decisions about their current value and career progression, which
may involve reskilling. This Training department ‘wake up call’ will be music
to the ears of the Board and shareholders. Given the uncertain future the
Training department faces, the opportunity to be both altruistic and paymaster
pleasing is worth some consideration.
